Stuffed Eggplant

This is soooo good.  The stuffing is killer.  Thanks, Michael's Mom!  I'm thinking the stuffing would be good in giant portobellos, or even bell peppers, too.

I would highly recommend baking the empty eggplant "shells" for a little bit before adding the stuffing, and then continuing to bake once they're stuffed.  The first time I made this following the original recipe, I stuffed the raw eggplant "shells" and they were not quite cooked through when the stuffing was done.  Also, I mixed the chopped tomatoes directly into the meat mixture instead of piling them on top.  YUM!


Stuffed Eggplant
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 smallish (5" - 6") eggplants
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 pound ground sirloin
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 1 large heirloom tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 2 additional tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove the eggplant tops and cut each eggplant in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out some of the inside center flesh, leaving a 1/4" shell.  Place the shells, skin side down, on a baking sheet misted with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside.  In the meantime, place the scooped out flesh in a microwave-safe bowl with a couple tablespoons of water and microwave on high for 2 minutes until soft.
• In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sweat the onion until translucent.  Add the ground sirloin, salt and pepper to taste, and minced garlic.  Brown the beef, then drain the fat and transfer the beef to a mixing bowl.
• Add the microwaved eggplant flesh and the rest of the ingredients (except for the two additional tablespoons of Parmesan) to the bowl and combine with the meat.
• Divide the meat mixture into 4 equal parts and spoon into each of the partly-baked eggplant "shells".
• Place the stuffed eggplants back into the oven and bake for another 45 minutes.
• When done, sprinkle the tops with the remaining Parmesan cheese and place back into the oven for a minute until the cheese melts.

Fish with Eggplant Ragout

Today was clean-out-the-fridge day.  I found: 1 eggplant, 1 package of sliced button mushrooms, a small orange bell pepper from a friend's garden, and 1/2 an onion.  On the counter were 4 plum tomatoes, and in the pantry was half a jar of couscous.  I bought some red snapper fillets on my way home from picking up the munchkin from school.  Throw it all together and what do you get?  A skillet of yumminess.

Fish with Eggplant Ragout

Ingredients:

• 1 medium eggplant, diced into 1/2" pieces
• salt
• olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 plum tomatoes, diced into 1/2" pieces
• 1 small bell pepper, chopped
• 1 package (6 oz.) sliced button mushrooms
• 1/4 cup water
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• large dash of dried thyme
• large dash of dried oregano
• 1 pound fish fillets, cut into 4 pieces

Directions:

• Liberally salt the eggplant pieces and let sit in a colander for 10 minutes to drain.  Rinse thoroughly.
• In a large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat and sauté the onions until translucent.
• Add the eggplant and everything else except the fish.  Season with TSSS to taste.  Sauté for about 10 minutes until veggies are soft.
• Move veggies to the edge of the pan and add another tablespoon of olive oil to the center.
• Season the fish fillets with TSSS.  Add the fish in a single layer to the center of the pan.  Cook for a few minutes on each side until done and flaky.  Spoon the veggie mixture over the fish, remove from heat and let sit for a minute.
• Serve over couscous or rice.

Parmesan Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant and Sausage Ragout

This was only my second time making quinoa, and let me tell you, it was so much better than my first time!  The first time I ever made it was when I was in training in Chicago for my last job with IRI.  My roommate and a few of the other girls in the group were health nuts and the bunch of us went to Whole Foods and came back to the hotel with all sorts of stuff I'd never eaten before.  I had bought a cup of quinoa because I'd heard it was a supergrain, and since I was in good company, I figured that was the time to try it.  Hrmm, maybe not.  They'd bought already-cooked quinoa before, but they'd never cooked it from scratch so couldn't give me any tips.  I didn't thoroughly wash it so it was bitter and gritty.  I also didn't add enough water so it was very grainy.  Not a good experience.  So it's taken me a good 7 years to try it again.

This time, I figured I'd try the quinoa cake-style with added egg and parmesan to ease myself back.  Anything is good with egg and parmesan, right?  The original recipe calls for it to be pan fried, but I baked mine to make it a little healthier.  It turned out pretty darned good.

Just make sure you wash the quinoa very well before you cook it.  I rinsed it through 3 or 4 changes of water to get as much of the grittiness out as possible.  It was perfect.

I sprinkled the mozzarella on top of the ragout, but I think next time it would be better to mix it into the ragout right at the end so it can melt slightly and get all ooey and gooey.  I reflected that in the directions below.

Parmesan Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant and Sausage Ragout
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• For the Parmesan Quinoa Cakes
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan
• couple pinches of thyme
• PAM

• For the Eggplant and Sausage Ragout
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 package sliced button mushrooms
• 1 large purple eggplant, diced, salted and drained
•  Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
• a few dashes of dried thyme and dried basil
• water
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 links pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage, cut into small slices
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella, diced

Directions:

• For the Parmesan Quinoa Cakes
• Thoroughly wash quinoa and let sit in a fine mesh sieve to drain.
• Bring water and pinch of salt to a boil.  Add the washed and drained quinoa.  Bring back to a boil, then cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until quinoa has absorbed all the water.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes for any excess water to absorb into the quinoa.
• Transfer quinoa to a bowl and let cool 10-15 minutes.  Stir in eggs, parmesan and thyme.  (Make sure the quinoa is sufficiently cooled, otherwise the egg may begin to scramble when you add them.)
• Divide quinoa into 4 equal parts, and using your hands, form each part into individual tightly-packed patties.  Place patties onto a baking sheet sprayed with PAM.
• Chill patties for 15-30 minutes.  (This is important to let the egg set, otherwise the patty may fall apart on you.)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Spray the tops of patties with PAM and bake for 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
• Turn on the broiler and broil for the last minute or two to get a nice brown crust on top.
• Serve immediately.

• For the Eggplant and Sausage Ragout
• Sauté the mushrooms in olive oil for a few minutes until slightly browned.
• Add in the eggplant, seasonings, thyme and a few tablespoons of water.  Sauté until everything begins to soften.  Add a little bit of water as needed to prevent the mixture from drying out.
• Add the tomatoes and sausage and continue to cook until the ragout is nice and soft.
• Sprinkle with mozzarella and toss immediately before serving.

As with most (or all?) of my recipes, this one is very flexible, and you can add anything you'd like.  The original recipe calls for roasted peppers, which I didn't add because I didn't have any on hand.  But I added the mushrooms and the sausage.  And it would be yummy with artichoke hearts as well, I think.

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

I'd bought a beautiful purple eggplant from the local produce stand last week but never got around to cooking it. A couple days ago I sliced it up thinly, salted it and let it sit in a collander for 1/2 hour, then rinsed it off and patted it dry. I was meaning to make eggplant parmesan but never got around to it, so I bagged up the slices and threw them in the fridge. And promptly forgot about them. Until today, when I was rummaging through the bottom drawer of the fridge and found them, slightly brown but still nice and firm. "I wonder if they'd still be good eating," I thought. Indeed, they were delicious.

By the way, I'm a big fan of stacks and rolls and any other individual serving type of construction because it helps me to maintain portion control. It's also easier to divvy up into leftover boxes for lunch the next day.

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks
Adapted from this recipe.


Ingredients:

• 1 large purple eggplant, thinly sliced into rounds (I kept the skin on)
  
• salt
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1 part whole wheat panko bread crumbs to 1 part grated parmesan (see? no measurements)
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt to taste (I love this stuff)
• PAM
  
• 1 jar Trader Joe's Organic Marinara Sauce
• 1 cup (8 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella

Directions:

• Liberally sprinkle salt over eggplant slices. Place the slices in a collander and let drain for 1/2 hour. Rinse thoroughly with water and pat dry between paper towels. Make sure they're dry!
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine bread crumbs, parmesan and seasoned salt in a large shallow bowl.
• Dip eggplant slices in whisked eggs, then dredge in bread crumb mixture to coat both sides. Spread slices out, single layer, onto a baking sheet sprayed with PAM.
• Bake slices for about 7 - 10 minutes, then turn them over and bake another 7 - 10 minutes until nice and golden and crispy on the outside.
• Eat 2 or 3 slices fresh from the oven and feed a slice to your enthusiastic toddler (blow on it first, it's hot!).
• In a square 9" baking pan, spread a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom. Make 4 stacks, layering eggplant alternately with marinara and mozzarella until you run out of eggplant slices. Top each stack with another spoonful of marinara and sprinkle of mozzarella.
• Bake 10 minutes until nice and bubbly and golden brown.
• Serve immediately.

Todd had to work late tonight, so after everything was done baking, I lowered the oven temp to "warm" and left it in there until he got home (about 1 hour kept on "warm"). The cheese was a little dry on top, but everything else was still delicious. And Todd, who would never voluntarily eat eggplant, devoured one whole stack in less than 5 minutes and exclaimed in between mouthfuls, "you need to save this recipe." True story.